These guidelines help keep YouTube a great community for users and advertisers. Content that violates YouTube’s Community Guidelines is not eligible for monetization and will be removed from YouTube. Content that’s not suitable for all audiences may be age-restricted. In addition, your YouTube channel may receive strikes, and repeated violations may result in suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, and/or termination of your YouTube channel.

It’s important you have the right to use all of your content commercially before monetizing it on YouTube. If you continuously submit ineligible videos, you may be suspended from the YouTube Partner Program.

Here are some of the key monetization policies that relate to copyright:

Own commercial-use rights: Make sure you have all the rights to the content that you attempt to monetize. This includes right to all audio and video elements.

Monetizing third-party content: Make sure you’re adding value to any third-party content you monetize, and that your content has significant original commentary, educational value, or editorialized statement.

Content quality guidelines

Reminder: These guidelines apply to your channel overall. If we find that a channel is dedicated to content that doesn’t meet our guidelines, the channel may be suspended from the Partner Program.

Make sure your content adds value, and is unique and relevant. We’ve included some examples of content that doesn’t meet these standards, which means it can’t be monetized. This list is not exhaustive.

Reused content. This is content that doesn’t provide significant original commentary, or educational value. It may also mean that we’ve identified that large portions of your channel either completely match other content, or are noticeably similar. Examples include:

Third-party videos stitched together with minimal to no changes

Third-party content compiled without a narrative

Content uploaded somewhere else first

Content uploaded many times by multiple users

Repetitious content. This is content that appears mass-produced in order to increase views without adding significant educational or other value. Examples include:

Synthetic voice reads third-party content or nonsensical content

Content on a channel with minimal changes from video to video

Repetitive or mindless content with no additional educational value, commentary, or narrative

Content that’s been mass-produced or generated programmatically

Image slideshows or scrolling text with minimal or no additional narrative, commentary, or educational value

Note: You may be able to monetize third-party content if you have commercial use rights for that content, and you’re contributing to the value of that content in some way. This can include, but is not limited to, high-quality editing, adding commentary, or narrative.

Ad violations

Examples of ad violations:

Clicking on your own ads for any reason

Encouraging others to click your ads

Using deceptive implementation methods to obtain clicks

Using third-party sites and tools

Examples of misusing third-party sites and tools:

Employing or commissioning third party sites and tools to artificially or manually generate subscribers or views

Embedding third party advertising, sponsorships, or promotions placed on or within your video content